Disclaimer: I do NOT own Inuyasha, so there. *Sniffle* You people are
so cruel.
~.~ I really shouldn't start another Inuyasha fic until I finish the first one, but the only reason I haven't finished that one in the first place is because I don't have a way to get the files on my computer on the net. My computer can't conect and there's no way to transfer it to a portable device... Well, I was bored out of my mind and I was reading a fic called Second Best and it was really good, lots of fluff. ^.^ Well, it inspired me to write a Naraku/Kagome fic of my own, though not neccisarily with so much fluff. Fluff is not my strong suit, but that's not the point. Also, the pairing may accidentally end up Sess/Kago, I dunno, vote on it. The rating might go up later on, but that's not my point either. Please R & R, and dun flame badly. Only positive criticism, or you will find me chopping off your fingers and cramming them up your nose, one by one, but THAT isn't the point either.~.^ Thanks. Oh and, I really would appreciate if someone would R & R my original fic. It's dying, and it really doesn't deserve to, but still, that's not my point. To tell the truth, I'm not exactlly sure what the point is... -.-;; I'm done now. ON WITH THE STORY!!!! (Maybe that's my point... o.o)
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Kagome heaved her large bag out of the well, panting with the effort of dragging it up the ladder. As she walked out of the wellhouse and towards her back door with it slung over her shoulder, she heard the phone ring inside and her grandfather pick it up.
"Hello? No. No, she isn't. Yes, she's still very ill... This time? It's uh...mono. Yes, we're very concerned. Yes, I'll tell her. You take care now." Kagome sighed. Another disease to add to the long list.
"It's a wonder nobody suspects I've kicked the bucket..." She mumbleed as she walked through the door, "Mom! Souta! Grandpa! I'm hoo~oome!!"
Her mom walked through the kitchen door and smiled at her, a wet glass in one hand and a towel in the other, "Kagome! you're early. I thought you wouldn't be back for three more days. Shard hunting going slow?"
"Kagome had another fight with her boyfriend." Souta chirped from in front of the TV, "Isn't that right, Kago-chan?"
"Souta, it is not, ya little brat." She huffed, "Inuyasha is NOT my boyfriend...but... we did have another fight. He's such a jerk. It's no wonder the demon left. He was so busy yelling at me for being a 'stupid girl.'" Her imitation of him was surprisingly acurate, and she had a little fun with going up the stairs to her room, "'Why can't you do anything right, you stupid girl.' Stupid this stupid that, that's all it is with him these days. That and schnogging with Kikyo."
She sighed and sat on the edge of her bed, not bothering to turn on the light. It was tiring, running two lives at once. Especially when the real one was the one she had to leave behind all the time. The fuedal era was great, even fighting the demons, but she was home sick. She was always a little home sick. Even when she was home she was home sick. Nothing felt right anymore. "And Naraku hasn't turned up lately either...so there must be something else going on that we'll have to worry about sooner or later..."
She stood and flipped the switch to her cieling light, looking around at her stuff that had been collecting dust while she was gone. On her desk was a pile of homework her friends had dropped off for her and a few gifts from Hojo. She knocked it all into the trash angrily. "It's pointless...completely pointless. Trying to fool myself into thinking I can lead this double life..." She sniffled helplessly and flopped down in her chair. She poked a pencil back and forth across the desk, unaware of anything but the nice little rolling sound it made everytime it went across. That was something she could enjoy. The simplicity of rolling a pencil... but then it began to remind her of goin back and forth between her home and Sengouku Jidai. She put the pencil back into the holder and stared out the window.
Inuyasha would no doubt be perched there by that time tommorrow, scowling as usual, and ready to drag her back of to the well. She stood up and walked out of the room, subconciously flicking the light off as she went and walked down the hall to the bathroom. Locking the door behind her, she stood stock still for a moment. She could have sworn she caught he faint hint of a jewel shard near the wellhouse. She checked again, reaching out with her senses, but found nothing. 'Paranoia. I've been spending a little too much time in the fuedal era.' she thought dismally as she turned the faucet on and watched the steamy water pour into the tub.
She slipped her dirty uniform off and pulled a towel down onto the toilet seat for when she got out. She stood there for a moment, staring into the water at her reflection. She hardly recognized herself, her hair was longer than she remembered, now reaching to her lower back, and her face was smudged with dirt and a little blood. Why hadn't anyone pointed it out? She was angry again when she slipped into the warm tub, letting herself sink down under the water and soak until she ran out of air. She scrubbed her hair thouroughly and then washed her body three times before she let herself climb out of the water and wrap the towel around her.
She walked out into the deserted hall and paused for a moment, inhaling the scent of her mother's cooking, and listening to the beeps and explosions coming from her brother's playstation. Her Grandfather was probably sweeping one last time before dark. She walked into her room, stopping again to search for the shard she'd felt earlier. Shrugging it off, she shut the door and tottered over to her dresser to pull out some night clothes. She hadn't looked at a clock till then, but she looked over at her alarm clock just then, noting the time was ten after six.(A/n: I dun live in Tokyo, so obviously I wouldn't know when it's dark and when it's not, so I'm going to assume that at six o'clock in the evening it's not exactly pitch black.-.-)
She pulled on a light blue cotton top and matching sleep pants and sat down on the floor under the window to dry her hair, running her fingers through it occasionally and then rubbing it furiously with her towel. She looked out the window again, forgeting what she was doing completely and stood. There, outside the window, she'd seen a flash of something and sensed that shard again. She opened the window and looked out onto the quiet yard. Her Grandfather wasn't out there anymore. He'd probably gone inside to get ready for dinner. A chill went over her and her room suddenly seemed very breezy. It was like this cold feeling that someone you were hiding from was watching you and knew everything you were thinking and doing.
Before she closed the window again she reached into her desk drawer and grabbed a small string of Black Cats she had left over from some holiday a year ago, lit them and threw them into the yard. She couldn't help but smile when she heard the smash of glass from the kitchen and her mother shriek. She shut the window and wandered back over to her desk. (A/n again: Does Kagome have curtains or blinds? You'd think she'd at least get some after knowing Inuyasha for so long...And why doesn't she lock the window? o.O or maybe she LIKES him peeping through her window and sneaking in her bedroom.... We'll never know... -.-) She took out a piece of paper and for nothing better to do, began doodling on it. She doodled on till dinner and stood up without a second glance at the drawing.
She went downstairs and took her place at the table where the rest of the family was seated, and smiled cheerily at them, "The food looks delicious Mom."
"I'm glad you think so Kagome." She said with a look towards a rather grumpy Souta, "Dig in."
Dinner passed in silence and Kagome washed and put away the dishes before returning to her sanctum and sinking down onto her bed. Once again, she neglected to turn on the light and just gazed silently at the black ceiling. Her room was warm and quiet, the only sounds were her breathing and the clocks steady ticking. She felt safe and snug. She soon found herself drifting off into a dreamworld, lulled by the sense of comfort hanging in the room.
Everything was dark, but peaceful. She felt like she was floating and free, but at the same time a little lost, a little lonely. She tried to call out, but it came out as a whispering sigh. She didn't mind that she couldn't talk, she was warm and safe where she was. There couldn't be anything there that would hurt her. As soon as she thought that, though, her precious haven began to dissolve, dissapating around her. She was falling through the well, still half in the dream world, and as she landed on the other side there was a fealing of something not being right.
She looked around through the darkness, and off in the distance she could see a glowing light, like the glow of flames, but she ignored it and began walking deeper into the forest, half-heartedly looking for someone. She sensed there were some shards nearby, and wandered in the general direction of them, half expecting to find some demon there waiting to tear out her heart.
"Oh, well. That's alright...it's a demon after all, they do those things..." She murmured nonchalantly
She wandered on and on and she was beginning to come out of her stupor when she saw what it was that was that she sensed, "I-inuyasha..."
There he was, his arms around Kikyo, his lips pressed to hers, and the ground opening beneath him. Kikyo looked up at her and smiled, that cold sadistic smile. 'He was destined to burn in hell with me from the beginning. It was onle a matter of time.' she mouthed at the stunned figure of Kagome. 'I shouldn't have left...' was her first thought, her only thought as she stood there and watched them sink away into the ground, Kikyo smiling menacingly and Inuyasha holding her and staring into her face as if hypnotized. (A/n: I'm no fan of Kikyo, so forgive me if I portray her a bit...more evil than she actually is, besides it helps the plot.^.^)
She didn't cry, and as much as it stung to see him betray her like that, she just turned and walked away, a calm look plastered on her face. She walked right back through the well and into her dreamworld, but now it wasn't warm like it had been, and the air seemed to get thicker and colder. She shivered uncontrolably and let the tears fall from her eyes. 'Inuyasha...how could you.... You betrayed me like you betrayed her all those years ago...'
She curled in on herself and stayed there, fully intent on never waking up, until she felt the warmth creap back into the place where she was hiding. It wasn't the air that was warm, and it wasn't like it was before either. It was like soothing warm arms were wrapped around her and she could sink back into the warmth. She uncurled herself slowly, and looked around with bleary eyes to find the source of this warmth, but what she saw was just a shadow, a shillouette of something, that didn't even have a form. It was just a mass of calming darkness.
Convinced that if she sank into this darkness and trusted it, she'd be alright, Kagome leaned into it and was swept off, and she slept soundly through the night and well into the next morning and then she lept until the morning after that, her exhaustion and fatiuge making her practically comatose. But she did awak, and when she did it was not to her comforting shadow, it was to her own room and her own sunny window and the smells of food cooking. With a cat-like stretch, she crawled from bed and dressed, then hobbled on down the hall and the stairs and into the kitchen to help her mother with breakfast.
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Naraku sat against the wall, his elbow propped on his knee, his face emotionless, and his eyes cold. Kohaku knelt behind the curtain across from him, awaiting his orders, "Kohaku. I want you to follow this...Kagome. I want to know all about her. Her habits, her behavioral patterns, her likes her dislikes, what kind of foods she eats and does not eat, everything. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Naraku-sama."
"Go. Do not return until you know everything. And, Kohaku, do not dissapoint me."
"...Yes, Naraku-sama."
Kohaku left.
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Kagome sat at her desk, finishing the alst of her homework and tapping her pencil against the desk. She put the finishing touches on her English assignment and put the pencil down with a satisfied smile. She stood and tugged a backpack purse out of her closet then bolted down the stairs, "Mom! I'm going to the mall, okay?"
"That's fine dear." Her mother called distractedly from the back yard
Kagome happily trotted down the road towards the local mall. (A/n: I dunno anythin about Tokyo or Malls, but let's just say that there's one within walking distance. A very long walking distance.~.^) On the walk she found her self distracted by thoughts of Inuyasha and the strange dreamworld. She felt a very odd calm in the pit of her stomach, one that was usually replaced with a constant happy excitement. She smiled softly at the remembrance of her little shadow friend, but frowned as her realistic dream came back into her thoughts. It coudn't have been real...could it??
She was almost there when she caught sight of Yume, her closest friend at school, "Kagome!" Yume cried on seeing her, "Kagome! Your Grandfather said you had mono!"
...*Sweatdrop*, "Well...I'm feeling alot better today." She desperatly changed the subject, "I was hoping to check out that new store. Isn't it some sort of phsycic chop or something?"
"Oh, yeah! Lucky charms and neat little crystal orbs. Nicky was there just a few days ago, and she said it was amazing. There's all kinds of soothing incense and herbs-"
"Herbs?" Kagome's intrest spiked, "Like medicinal herbs, or therapuetic herbs, or just herbs?"
Her friend looked at her, "I dunno...I don't know much about herbs, you'll have to ask the lady who owns it. Come on! Let's go. After we check it out we can go to the food court and have a munch fest!" The two girls giggled as they entered the huge shopping mall. "It's this way. I saw Hojo in there yesterday, I think he was looking for a gift to give his girlfriend." She said, smiling slyly at Kagome
She blushed furiously, "I am NOT his girlfriend!"
"*Gasp* So you're saying you don't 'like' him?!" She grinned at Kagome's sputtering response, "Nevermind, Kagome. Let's go inside already!"
The entrance of the shop was hung with beads that made that pretty tinkling sound when you passed through them. There was nobody at the small table in the corner that served as a counter, but there were several people looking around in the store, awing at the incense smells, and staring at the orbs that sat on little cushins. Kagome had been saving ever since she heard the shop was going to be added, and now she was glad. And a table near the back were several bags of herbs that would be useful in the feudal era. She was picking through them when a young, ethreal voice startled her out of her thoughts.
"You seem like you know these herbs well." A dark blue haired, and matching blue eyed woman about five foot ten stood just behind her, her kind angelic face smiling, and her delicate hands folded in front of her, "I have not yet had one customer that knew what any of these are or what they do. You are a very special girl indeed, Kagome."
She gaped at the woman, "You know my name? How...?"
"I know many things Kagome, and I've been hoping you'd come to see me, but I'd begun to thought your adventures in Segoku Jidai would prevent that. Come with me." The woman led Kagome through another curtain of beads and through another part of the shop before taking a key and opening awooden door, "This is my personal room, where I staywhen business is slow or when the mall has not yet opened."
It was a cozy room, with a pile of cushins in the corner to sit on and a table set for tea close by it. All kinds of mystical looking things furnished the small room, but Kagome didn't dare ask about them. The woman motioned for her to sit and take a cup of tea before doing the same. Sipping the tea, Kagome asked hesitantly, "How do you know about the Feudal Era?"
"Well...it's a very long story. I came from there, centuries ago, though not through that well, and not exactly at that precise time. Where, and when, I came from, you were a legendary hero among many, but also a very much hated enemy to just as many. My family was one that greatly respected you, though I come from a long line of demons. Well, it just so happens that my family is also descended from great and powerful seers.(A/n: Ya know...I just sat staring at this screen for five minutes deciding wether great and powerful were the same or not....)When I was thrown through a portal to the future by an enemy and rival of mine, I saw that one day you would come into this shop, and so of course I set it up, going from mall to mall, till I found you. The reason I had to find you was unknown to me until very recently. You see, I had another vision." She finished her cup of tea and refilled both cups, her face calm all the time.
"Excuse me, miss, but what exactlly is your name? And where in the Sengoku Jidai do you come from?" Kagome asked timidly, still thouroghly puzzled
"Oh, forgive me, Kagome. My name is Sabishii Hikari. I come from the far eastern lands of the Hikari. We are not very keen on people and don't venture from our home often.Well, allow me to continue. I had a cisionthat concerned the well-known hanyou you travel with. It is said that if you can work together with him you can recollect the shards of the jewel and anhialate it's evil and return it to a harmless healing gem. But, I have seen something that was unexpected. Perhaps Fate and Destiny have made a miscalculation, or there has been a change in something that was not expected, because the hanyou is no longer able to help you find the shards."
Kagome's gasp was audible, and all the doubt she'd forced herself to give in to, all the convincing reasons of why her dream was false melted, "You don't mean....inuyasha wouldn't have done anythign like that, would he...?"
The woman looked at her with a look remarkably similar to understanding, but the emotion was so vague, "Inuyasha has strayed from the path set for him. He has gone with Kikyo to hell, and he will not return." She stopped talking for a moment to let Kagome deal with this thought and poured her more tea, "There is mint in the tea, it will soothe you. As I said, you will not be able to continue your hunt with him. You will still have your friends if you wish for a while, but from what I can tell, your path will not allow them to stay with you. I cannot exatlly reveal your path to you, but I can make it clear that you must take chances, but you must also be on your guard. There are many false paths that may lead to your failure. There is only one right path, Kagome, and I pray to the heavans that you will find it. I will assist you in any way I can. Please, take heart Kagome. Things will get better."
Kagome wiped the glum look from her face, taking a last sip of tea, and set her cup down. "Alright then." She smiled, "I can do this." a thought crossed her mind as she stood, "Oops...I think I left Yume wandering around your shop..."
With a faint air of relief that the talk was over, Kagome went back into the shop, finding Yume already half way done picking out what she was buying. Kagome selected a few packs of herbs, really almost half her money's worth, a small silver necklace with a crystal hope charm on it, a soothing spice for her mother to cook with, an odd looking charm against evil for Grandpa, and a small, deep blue crystal orb to give to Souta. With that finished and most of her money spent, she and Yume headed the foodcourt to enjoy a milkshake and some fries.
She and Yume were scoping around for the cute guys when out of the corner of her eye, Kagome saw a very large glimmer of gold, but dissmissed it as someone's bulky jewelry. She was just pointing out a guy with an odd looking earing when she heard a familiar jingle and saw Yume gape over her shoulder.
"Oh no...please tell me it's not..." She turned around, "Oh my god! MIROKU!! What in the world are you doing here?! And...why..." She began giggling and burst into fits of laughter, followed by Yume's not-quite- quiet snorts of laughter.
Miroku had several lumps, pieces of what Kagome suspected was a cracked boomerang in his hair, what looked like lipstick prints smeared all over his face, several slap marks, and he was drenched from head to toe. He scowled and sat down between Yume and Kagome, and Yume watched him with tears in her eyes, speaking between outbursts of laughter, "You...know....this guy...kag? Hah hah hah....what....happened to him...?"
"Ha hah ha... Yeah, Miroku.... I'd like...to know the...same thing." They continued their fits of laughter until they were red in the face and their eyes were streaming, but eventually they did stop.
"Well," Miroku began dismally, "If you two are finished drawing pleasure from my misery, I'd be happy to tell you." He cleared his throat and leaned his staff against the table, "Sango and I came here to look for you. We were worried after the fight you had with Inuyasha, and we thought you might not return." Yume was gazing at him intently, curious about Kagome's strange friend, and from the look in Miroku's eyes he was thoroughly enjoying it, "Inuyasha...has gone to hell with Kikyo." Kagome nodded and Yume looked confusedly between the two
"When he left we decided we had definately better come and see you. Well, when we arrived your mother told us you were here and directed us to it... But you see, we ran into a little problem."
"Let me guess, Miroku." She smiled knowingly, "Knowing you, you were checking out some group of girls and they were hugging at kissing on you, and you started feeling them up, so Sango hit you over the head with the boomerang. And, knowing her, it broke...again. And so, she slapped you a few times for breaking it, then the girls you were hitting on slapped you, thinking she was your girlfriend or something, right?"
Miroku looked astounded, "Yeah...and then-"
"You went after her and said something nice to make up for it, and she almost forgave you, but you just HAD to touch her butt so she threw you into the pool on display over by the entrance." She smiled at the cheeky grin he gave her and turned to the thoroughly flabbergasted Yume, "Yume, this is the ever-lecherous monk, Miroku. Say no."
Just as Miroku opened his mouth to ask, Yume obediantly said "Urm...No." and he pouted at Kagome, who only smiled at him
"So...where exactly IS Sango?" She asked Miroku, getting only another grin from him, "She's probably still trying to get Kirara away from the pet shop. Who knew she'd be so...interested in male cats... Of course, it will be rather sad when she figures out that they're just house cats, domesticated for the entertainment of humans."
"Um...Kagome...you certainly have fallen in with an odd crowd lately. You sure you're feeling alright." She leaned closer, "But I gotta admit, you do get all the hot guys." Yume broke into another giggle fit and Kagome stood up to leave
"I'll see ya later, Yume, okay? Bye. Miroku, come on. Let's get Sango and Kirara and go home." She led the dishevled monk off and managed to convice Sango not to kill him before they left the mall and headed off to Kagome's house.
But what nobody else knew...was that there was another set of eyes trailing them, a very intruiged set of eyes with a VERY intruiged master...
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Sabi:: Well...that's...the end of the chapter... *Glances Cautiously over shoulder and twitches violently...* Naraku-kun has read the next two chapters...and he's not exactly pleased....
Naraku:: 'Pleased'? WHY SHOULD I BE PLEASED?! What have you done to me?! *Runs after a wailing Sabi*
Kurai:: Um...well...be sure to...read the next chapter....and mebbe if enough people review and like the story, he'll stop chasing her long enough for her to post some more... Right... *Edges away*
~.~ I really shouldn't start another Inuyasha fic until I finish the first one, but the only reason I haven't finished that one in the first place is because I don't have a way to get the files on my computer on the net. My computer can't conect and there's no way to transfer it to a portable device... Well, I was bored out of my mind and I was reading a fic called Second Best and it was really good, lots of fluff. ^.^ Well, it inspired me to write a Naraku/Kagome fic of my own, though not neccisarily with so much fluff. Fluff is not my strong suit, but that's not the point. Also, the pairing may accidentally end up Sess/Kago, I dunno, vote on it. The rating might go up later on, but that's not my point either. Please R & R, and dun flame badly. Only positive criticism, or you will find me chopping off your fingers and cramming them up your nose, one by one, but THAT isn't the point either.~.^ Thanks. Oh and, I really would appreciate if someone would R & R my original fic. It's dying, and it really doesn't deserve to, but still, that's not my point. To tell the truth, I'm not exactlly sure what the point is... -.-;; I'm done now. ON WITH THE STORY!!!! (Maybe that's my point... o.o)
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Kagome heaved her large bag out of the well, panting with the effort of dragging it up the ladder. As she walked out of the wellhouse and towards her back door with it slung over her shoulder, she heard the phone ring inside and her grandfather pick it up.
"Hello? No. No, she isn't. Yes, she's still very ill... This time? It's uh...mono. Yes, we're very concerned. Yes, I'll tell her. You take care now." Kagome sighed. Another disease to add to the long list.
"It's a wonder nobody suspects I've kicked the bucket..." She mumbleed as she walked through the door, "Mom! Souta! Grandpa! I'm hoo~oome!!"
Her mom walked through the kitchen door and smiled at her, a wet glass in one hand and a towel in the other, "Kagome! you're early. I thought you wouldn't be back for three more days. Shard hunting going slow?"
"Kagome had another fight with her boyfriend." Souta chirped from in front of the TV, "Isn't that right, Kago-chan?"
"Souta, it is not, ya little brat." She huffed, "Inuyasha is NOT my boyfriend...but... we did have another fight. He's such a jerk. It's no wonder the demon left. He was so busy yelling at me for being a 'stupid girl.'" Her imitation of him was surprisingly acurate, and she had a little fun with going up the stairs to her room, "'Why can't you do anything right, you stupid girl.' Stupid this stupid that, that's all it is with him these days. That and schnogging with Kikyo."
She sighed and sat on the edge of her bed, not bothering to turn on the light. It was tiring, running two lives at once. Especially when the real one was the one she had to leave behind all the time. The fuedal era was great, even fighting the demons, but she was home sick. She was always a little home sick. Even when she was home she was home sick. Nothing felt right anymore. "And Naraku hasn't turned up lately either...so there must be something else going on that we'll have to worry about sooner or later..."
She stood and flipped the switch to her cieling light, looking around at her stuff that had been collecting dust while she was gone. On her desk was a pile of homework her friends had dropped off for her and a few gifts from Hojo. She knocked it all into the trash angrily. "It's pointless...completely pointless. Trying to fool myself into thinking I can lead this double life..." She sniffled helplessly and flopped down in her chair. She poked a pencil back and forth across the desk, unaware of anything but the nice little rolling sound it made everytime it went across. That was something she could enjoy. The simplicity of rolling a pencil... but then it began to remind her of goin back and forth between her home and Sengouku Jidai. She put the pencil back into the holder and stared out the window.
Inuyasha would no doubt be perched there by that time tommorrow, scowling as usual, and ready to drag her back of to the well. She stood up and walked out of the room, subconciously flicking the light off as she went and walked down the hall to the bathroom. Locking the door behind her, she stood stock still for a moment. She could have sworn she caught he faint hint of a jewel shard near the wellhouse. She checked again, reaching out with her senses, but found nothing. 'Paranoia. I've been spending a little too much time in the fuedal era.' she thought dismally as she turned the faucet on and watched the steamy water pour into the tub.
She slipped her dirty uniform off and pulled a towel down onto the toilet seat for when she got out. She stood there for a moment, staring into the water at her reflection. She hardly recognized herself, her hair was longer than she remembered, now reaching to her lower back, and her face was smudged with dirt and a little blood. Why hadn't anyone pointed it out? She was angry again when she slipped into the warm tub, letting herself sink down under the water and soak until she ran out of air. She scrubbed her hair thouroughly and then washed her body three times before she let herself climb out of the water and wrap the towel around her.
She walked out into the deserted hall and paused for a moment, inhaling the scent of her mother's cooking, and listening to the beeps and explosions coming from her brother's playstation. Her Grandfather was probably sweeping one last time before dark. She walked into her room, stopping again to search for the shard she'd felt earlier. Shrugging it off, she shut the door and tottered over to her dresser to pull out some night clothes. She hadn't looked at a clock till then, but she looked over at her alarm clock just then, noting the time was ten after six.(A/n: I dun live in Tokyo, so obviously I wouldn't know when it's dark and when it's not, so I'm going to assume that at six o'clock in the evening it's not exactly pitch black.-.-)
She pulled on a light blue cotton top and matching sleep pants and sat down on the floor under the window to dry her hair, running her fingers through it occasionally and then rubbing it furiously with her towel. She looked out the window again, forgeting what she was doing completely and stood. There, outside the window, she'd seen a flash of something and sensed that shard again. She opened the window and looked out onto the quiet yard. Her Grandfather wasn't out there anymore. He'd probably gone inside to get ready for dinner. A chill went over her and her room suddenly seemed very breezy. It was like this cold feeling that someone you were hiding from was watching you and knew everything you were thinking and doing.
Before she closed the window again she reached into her desk drawer and grabbed a small string of Black Cats she had left over from some holiday a year ago, lit them and threw them into the yard. She couldn't help but smile when she heard the smash of glass from the kitchen and her mother shriek. She shut the window and wandered back over to her desk. (A/n again: Does Kagome have curtains or blinds? You'd think she'd at least get some after knowing Inuyasha for so long...And why doesn't she lock the window? o.O or maybe she LIKES him peeping through her window and sneaking in her bedroom.... We'll never know... -.-) She took out a piece of paper and for nothing better to do, began doodling on it. She doodled on till dinner and stood up without a second glance at the drawing.
She went downstairs and took her place at the table where the rest of the family was seated, and smiled cheerily at them, "The food looks delicious Mom."
"I'm glad you think so Kagome." She said with a look towards a rather grumpy Souta, "Dig in."
Dinner passed in silence and Kagome washed and put away the dishes before returning to her sanctum and sinking down onto her bed. Once again, she neglected to turn on the light and just gazed silently at the black ceiling. Her room was warm and quiet, the only sounds were her breathing and the clocks steady ticking. She felt safe and snug. She soon found herself drifting off into a dreamworld, lulled by the sense of comfort hanging in the room.
Everything was dark, but peaceful. She felt like she was floating and free, but at the same time a little lost, a little lonely. She tried to call out, but it came out as a whispering sigh. She didn't mind that she couldn't talk, she was warm and safe where she was. There couldn't be anything there that would hurt her. As soon as she thought that, though, her precious haven began to dissolve, dissapating around her. She was falling through the well, still half in the dream world, and as she landed on the other side there was a fealing of something not being right.
She looked around through the darkness, and off in the distance she could see a glowing light, like the glow of flames, but she ignored it and began walking deeper into the forest, half-heartedly looking for someone. She sensed there were some shards nearby, and wandered in the general direction of them, half expecting to find some demon there waiting to tear out her heart.
"Oh, well. That's alright...it's a demon after all, they do those things..." She murmured nonchalantly
She wandered on and on and she was beginning to come out of her stupor when she saw what it was that was that she sensed, "I-inuyasha..."
There he was, his arms around Kikyo, his lips pressed to hers, and the ground opening beneath him. Kikyo looked up at her and smiled, that cold sadistic smile. 'He was destined to burn in hell with me from the beginning. It was onle a matter of time.' she mouthed at the stunned figure of Kagome. 'I shouldn't have left...' was her first thought, her only thought as she stood there and watched them sink away into the ground, Kikyo smiling menacingly and Inuyasha holding her and staring into her face as if hypnotized. (A/n: I'm no fan of Kikyo, so forgive me if I portray her a bit...more evil than she actually is, besides it helps the plot.^.^)
She didn't cry, and as much as it stung to see him betray her like that, she just turned and walked away, a calm look plastered on her face. She walked right back through the well and into her dreamworld, but now it wasn't warm like it had been, and the air seemed to get thicker and colder. She shivered uncontrolably and let the tears fall from her eyes. 'Inuyasha...how could you.... You betrayed me like you betrayed her all those years ago...'
She curled in on herself and stayed there, fully intent on never waking up, until she felt the warmth creap back into the place where she was hiding. It wasn't the air that was warm, and it wasn't like it was before either. It was like soothing warm arms were wrapped around her and she could sink back into the warmth. She uncurled herself slowly, and looked around with bleary eyes to find the source of this warmth, but what she saw was just a shadow, a shillouette of something, that didn't even have a form. It was just a mass of calming darkness.
Convinced that if she sank into this darkness and trusted it, she'd be alright, Kagome leaned into it and was swept off, and she slept soundly through the night and well into the next morning and then she lept until the morning after that, her exhaustion and fatiuge making her practically comatose. But she did awak, and when she did it was not to her comforting shadow, it was to her own room and her own sunny window and the smells of food cooking. With a cat-like stretch, she crawled from bed and dressed, then hobbled on down the hall and the stairs and into the kitchen to help her mother with breakfast.
*.*
Naraku sat against the wall, his elbow propped on his knee, his face emotionless, and his eyes cold. Kohaku knelt behind the curtain across from him, awaiting his orders, "Kohaku. I want you to follow this...Kagome. I want to know all about her. Her habits, her behavioral patterns, her likes her dislikes, what kind of foods she eats and does not eat, everything. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Naraku-sama."
"Go. Do not return until you know everything. And, Kohaku, do not dissapoint me."
"...Yes, Naraku-sama."
Kohaku left.
*.*
Kagome sat at her desk, finishing the alst of her homework and tapping her pencil against the desk. She put the finishing touches on her English assignment and put the pencil down with a satisfied smile. She stood and tugged a backpack purse out of her closet then bolted down the stairs, "Mom! I'm going to the mall, okay?"
"That's fine dear." Her mother called distractedly from the back yard
Kagome happily trotted down the road towards the local mall. (A/n: I dunno anythin about Tokyo or Malls, but let's just say that there's one within walking distance. A very long walking distance.~.^) On the walk she found her self distracted by thoughts of Inuyasha and the strange dreamworld. She felt a very odd calm in the pit of her stomach, one that was usually replaced with a constant happy excitement. She smiled softly at the remembrance of her little shadow friend, but frowned as her realistic dream came back into her thoughts. It coudn't have been real...could it??
She was almost there when she caught sight of Yume, her closest friend at school, "Kagome!" Yume cried on seeing her, "Kagome! Your Grandfather said you had mono!"
...*Sweatdrop*, "Well...I'm feeling alot better today." She desperatly changed the subject, "I was hoping to check out that new store. Isn't it some sort of phsycic chop or something?"
"Oh, yeah! Lucky charms and neat little crystal orbs. Nicky was there just a few days ago, and she said it was amazing. There's all kinds of soothing incense and herbs-"
"Herbs?" Kagome's intrest spiked, "Like medicinal herbs, or therapuetic herbs, or just herbs?"
Her friend looked at her, "I dunno...I don't know much about herbs, you'll have to ask the lady who owns it. Come on! Let's go. After we check it out we can go to the food court and have a munch fest!" The two girls giggled as they entered the huge shopping mall. "It's this way. I saw Hojo in there yesterday, I think he was looking for a gift to give his girlfriend." She said, smiling slyly at Kagome
She blushed furiously, "I am NOT his girlfriend!"
"*Gasp* So you're saying you don't 'like' him?!" She grinned at Kagome's sputtering response, "Nevermind, Kagome. Let's go inside already!"
The entrance of the shop was hung with beads that made that pretty tinkling sound when you passed through them. There was nobody at the small table in the corner that served as a counter, but there were several people looking around in the store, awing at the incense smells, and staring at the orbs that sat on little cushins. Kagome had been saving ever since she heard the shop was going to be added, and now she was glad. And a table near the back were several bags of herbs that would be useful in the feudal era. She was picking through them when a young, ethreal voice startled her out of her thoughts.
"You seem like you know these herbs well." A dark blue haired, and matching blue eyed woman about five foot ten stood just behind her, her kind angelic face smiling, and her delicate hands folded in front of her, "I have not yet had one customer that knew what any of these are or what they do. You are a very special girl indeed, Kagome."
She gaped at the woman, "You know my name? How...?"
"I know many things Kagome, and I've been hoping you'd come to see me, but I'd begun to thought your adventures in Segoku Jidai would prevent that. Come with me." The woman led Kagome through another curtain of beads and through another part of the shop before taking a key and opening awooden door, "This is my personal room, where I staywhen business is slow or when the mall has not yet opened."
It was a cozy room, with a pile of cushins in the corner to sit on and a table set for tea close by it. All kinds of mystical looking things furnished the small room, but Kagome didn't dare ask about them. The woman motioned for her to sit and take a cup of tea before doing the same. Sipping the tea, Kagome asked hesitantly, "How do you know about the Feudal Era?"
"Well...it's a very long story. I came from there, centuries ago, though not through that well, and not exactly at that precise time. Where, and when, I came from, you were a legendary hero among many, but also a very much hated enemy to just as many. My family was one that greatly respected you, though I come from a long line of demons. Well, it just so happens that my family is also descended from great and powerful seers.(A/n: Ya know...I just sat staring at this screen for five minutes deciding wether great and powerful were the same or not....)When I was thrown through a portal to the future by an enemy and rival of mine, I saw that one day you would come into this shop, and so of course I set it up, going from mall to mall, till I found you. The reason I had to find you was unknown to me until very recently. You see, I had another vision." She finished her cup of tea and refilled both cups, her face calm all the time.
"Excuse me, miss, but what exactlly is your name? And where in the Sengoku Jidai do you come from?" Kagome asked timidly, still thouroghly puzzled
"Oh, forgive me, Kagome. My name is Sabishii Hikari. I come from the far eastern lands of the Hikari. We are not very keen on people and don't venture from our home often.Well, allow me to continue. I had a cisionthat concerned the well-known hanyou you travel with. It is said that if you can work together with him you can recollect the shards of the jewel and anhialate it's evil and return it to a harmless healing gem. But, I have seen something that was unexpected. Perhaps Fate and Destiny have made a miscalculation, or there has been a change in something that was not expected, because the hanyou is no longer able to help you find the shards."
Kagome's gasp was audible, and all the doubt she'd forced herself to give in to, all the convincing reasons of why her dream was false melted, "You don't mean....inuyasha wouldn't have done anythign like that, would he...?"
The woman looked at her with a look remarkably similar to understanding, but the emotion was so vague, "Inuyasha has strayed from the path set for him. He has gone with Kikyo to hell, and he will not return." She stopped talking for a moment to let Kagome deal with this thought and poured her more tea, "There is mint in the tea, it will soothe you. As I said, you will not be able to continue your hunt with him. You will still have your friends if you wish for a while, but from what I can tell, your path will not allow them to stay with you. I cannot exatlly reveal your path to you, but I can make it clear that you must take chances, but you must also be on your guard. There are many false paths that may lead to your failure. There is only one right path, Kagome, and I pray to the heavans that you will find it. I will assist you in any way I can. Please, take heart Kagome. Things will get better."
Kagome wiped the glum look from her face, taking a last sip of tea, and set her cup down. "Alright then." She smiled, "I can do this." a thought crossed her mind as she stood, "Oops...I think I left Yume wandering around your shop..."
With a faint air of relief that the talk was over, Kagome went back into the shop, finding Yume already half way done picking out what she was buying. Kagome selected a few packs of herbs, really almost half her money's worth, a small silver necklace with a crystal hope charm on it, a soothing spice for her mother to cook with, an odd looking charm against evil for Grandpa, and a small, deep blue crystal orb to give to Souta. With that finished and most of her money spent, she and Yume headed the foodcourt to enjoy a milkshake and some fries.
She and Yume were scoping around for the cute guys when out of the corner of her eye, Kagome saw a very large glimmer of gold, but dissmissed it as someone's bulky jewelry. She was just pointing out a guy with an odd looking earing when she heard a familiar jingle and saw Yume gape over her shoulder.
"Oh no...please tell me it's not..." She turned around, "Oh my god! MIROKU!! What in the world are you doing here?! And...why..." She began giggling and burst into fits of laughter, followed by Yume's not-quite- quiet snorts of laughter.
Miroku had several lumps, pieces of what Kagome suspected was a cracked boomerang in his hair, what looked like lipstick prints smeared all over his face, several slap marks, and he was drenched from head to toe. He scowled and sat down between Yume and Kagome, and Yume watched him with tears in her eyes, speaking between outbursts of laughter, "You...know....this guy...kag? Hah hah hah....what....happened to him...?"
"Ha hah ha... Yeah, Miroku.... I'd like...to know the...same thing." They continued their fits of laughter until they were red in the face and their eyes were streaming, but eventually they did stop.
"Well," Miroku began dismally, "If you two are finished drawing pleasure from my misery, I'd be happy to tell you." He cleared his throat and leaned his staff against the table, "Sango and I came here to look for you. We were worried after the fight you had with Inuyasha, and we thought you might not return." Yume was gazing at him intently, curious about Kagome's strange friend, and from the look in Miroku's eyes he was thoroughly enjoying it, "Inuyasha...has gone to hell with Kikyo." Kagome nodded and Yume looked confusedly between the two
"When he left we decided we had definately better come and see you. Well, when we arrived your mother told us you were here and directed us to it... But you see, we ran into a little problem."
"Let me guess, Miroku." She smiled knowingly, "Knowing you, you were checking out some group of girls and they were hugging at kissing on you, and you started feeling them up, so Sango hit you over the head with the boomerang. And, knowing her, it broke...again. And so, she slapped you a few times for breaking it, then the girls you were hitting on slapped you, thinking she was your girlfriend or something, right?"
Miroku looked astounded, "Yeah...and then-"
"You went after her and said something nice to make up for it, and she almost forgave you, but you just HAD to touch her butt so she threw you into the pool on display over by the entrance." She smiled at the cheeky grin he gave her and turned to the thoroughly flabbergasted Yume, "Yume, this is the ever-lecherous monk, Miroku. Say no."
Just as Miroku opened his mouth to ask, Yume obediantly said "Urm...No." and he pouted at Kagome, who only smiled at him
"So...where exactly IS Sango?" She asked Miroku, getting only another grin from him, "She's probably still trying to get Kirara away from the pet shop. Who knew she'd be so...interested in male cats... Of course, it will be rather sad when she figures out that they're just house cats, domesticated for the entertainment of humans."
"Um...Kagome...you certainly have fallen in with an odd crowd lately. You sure you're feeling alright." She leaned closer, "But I gotta admit, you do get all the hot guys." Yume broke into another giggle fit and Kagome stood up to leave
"I'll see ya later, Yume, okay? Bye. Miroku, come on. Let's get Sango and Kirara and go home." She led the dishevled monk off and managed to convice Sango not to kill him before they left the mall and headed off to Kagome's house.
But what nobody else knew...was that there was another set of eyes trailing them, a very intruiged set of eyes with a VERY intruiged master...
*.*
Sabi:: Well...that's...the end of the chapter... *Glances Cautiously over shoulder and twitches violently...* Naraku-kun has read the next two chapters...and he's not exactly pleased....
Naraku:: 'Pleased'? WHY SHOULD I BE PLEASED?! What have you done to me?! *Runs after a wailing Sabi*
Kurai:: Um...well...be sure to...read the next chapter....and mebbe if enough people review and like the story, he'll stop chasing her long enough for her to post some more... Right... *Edges away*